You’re Not on the Wrong Train with Dr. Wai-Jia Tam

What if you didn't get on the wrong train? What if you simply became a different person along the way?In this episode of Surgeon, Interrupted, Frances Mei sits down with Dr. Wai-Jia Tam, a Singaporean humanitarian doctor whose career has spanned public health, humanitarian medicine, COVID response, and global health leadership.Dr. Wai-Jia Tam shares an extraordinary story of following a path that looked successful on paper while gradually losing touch with the person she wanted to be. From becoming a physician after growing up dreaming of being a wildlife documentary host, to humanitarian work, moving her family to Tanzania, and now finding her way toward conservation, her story is ultimately about something bigger than career change.It's about reclaiming yourself.The conversation explores:What happens when the career you've built no longer feels like the right destinationWhy physicians can struggle to recognize their own definition of successThe pressure to prove yourself in medicine and high-achieving culturesReconnecting with the dreams you had as a childWhy changing direction doesn't mean your past was a mistakeThe difference between reinventing yourself and reclaiming yourselfHow a major health setback forced Dr. Wai-Jia Tam to reconsider her identityFinding purpose outside of credentials, titles, and professional achievementHow one cold DM led to an unexpected opportunity in wildlife conservationWhy the work you do quietly for years may eventually open an unexpected doorGiving yourself permission to get off the “wrong train” Dr. Wai-Jia Tam also shares the remarkable story of creating a children's book as a teenager to raise money for a home for girls she met in Nepal. Despite being told she couldn't do it—and being told her paintings were terrible—she taught herself to paint, published the book, and ultimately raised $100,000 to build the home.For physicians and other high achievers who have ever wondered “Is this really what I want?”, this is a conversation about permission: permission to change, to pause, to choose differently, and to become more fully yourself.And Dr. Wai-Jia Tam leaves us with a beautiful definition of healing:Healing isn't about returning to who you were before the pain. It's about giving yourself permission to be who you were always meant to be.Host: Frances Mei Hardin, MDGuest: Dr. Wai-Jia TamConnect with Wai Jia: @drwaijiatamPresented by: The Hippocratic CollectiveFollow Frances Mei on Instagram & Tiktok @francesmeimdAnd subscribe to ⁨@HippocraticCollective⁩ on Youtube for all of the other shows the Hippocratic Collective has to offer.